Apple and cinnamon cakes. Maybe not so pretty, but super tasty.

There are some combinations in life that you can’t go wrong with. Gin and Tonic. Hot dogs and gherkins. Ben and Jerry. And yes, it’s old school and something of a combo cliché: Apples and Cinnamon. But it’s old school and clichéd because it works! Personally, being one of my favourite spices (top 3 at least) I will put cinnamon in anything from pie to curries, but as well as being all earthy sweet and yummy it is also thought to have blood sugar regulating properties and is high in magnesium, fibre and vitamins C and K. Not bad for a bit of bark. I wont go on about apples being good for you, don’t worry. But they are you know.

So here it is, a reasonably simple cake recipe. I don’t have much more to say on the subject, other than it is was originally bastardised from my mother’s banana cake recipe, born on a day when I just couldn’t be bothered to go to the shops to buy bananas. Works best as cupcakes or small loaf.

Ingredients

4 oz butter
6oz sugar
2 eggs
2 medium sized eating apples (I like braeburns)
8oz plain flour
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate soda
1tbsp milk

First off, cream together your sugar and butter. I believe that a strong armed approach gives the best result for a cake mix, but I also know what it is like to have a life so if you have a blender, go for it.
Next add your eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly but slowly to avoid the mixture splitting.

Grated apples give a lovely, chunky texture to these cakes.

Wash and core your apples, then grate on the roughest setting you have. You can peel them if you like, I don’t tend to though. You could sub this for 3-4 tablespoons of stewed apples or, horrors, a pre-made apple sauce.  Gently stir this into your butter/sugar/eggs mix straight away to avoid curling or discolouration. I’m not a fan of cooking apples and would suggest you use a nice, crisp eating apple like a braeburn or cox. Avoid Granny Smith types.

Now sift together your flour, baking powder and cinnamon and set aside.

magic frothy milk

In a small pan, heat up the milk until just starting to boil. Take off the heat and immediately add the bicarbonate of soda, stirring rapidly. Stand back and make oooh, aaaaah noises as the milk bubbles up into a frothy mess. Now stir this into the wet mix before folding in the dry ingredients.

This quantity will make about a dozen cupcakes or a small loaf, I prefer cupcakes! Either option should cook at 175C (or gas mark 4) check after 15 mins for cupcakes, 20 for a loaf. They should brown up nicely and an inserted skewer will come out clean when they are done. You can eat these more or less straight away if you have no powers of restraint, however I like to let them cool to room temperature then store in an air tight box- they develop a lovely stickiness over night.